


well it rains and it pours

by nightscentedstock



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: First Kiss, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:53:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25899250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nightscentedstock/pseuds/nightscentedstock
Summary: Three major things have changed.One, no apocalypse for now. Two, they were flung back to the 1960s. And three, somehow Ben became more corporeal than a ghost should be.Admittedly, the apocalypse is not a good time for some thorough exploration of what that truly implies - but the 1960s might as well be.Klaus wants to know how far exactly can Ben go.
Relationships: Ben Hargreeves/Klaus Hargreeves
Comments: 5
Kudos: 155





	well it rains and it pours

The first time they get to experiment with Ben’s brand new state with a fresh corporeal flare is for “survival” as Klaus puts it - when he tries to convince his dead brother to help him scam a mansionful of socialites. 

At first Ben is, naturally, against it. It is hard to decide whether it’s the good boy in him that resists, or he’s just deliberately teasing Klaus for the drama of it before eventually giving in and agreeing to be dragged into another of his non-sensical plans. It isn't a day without some bickering.  


“Come on, Benvolio,” Klaus begs him with an affected stage whisper. “Your benevolence would be much appreciated. Brothers should be lifting one another up. Literally.”

Ben pulls his chin back in obvious disapproval, giving him a pointed look.

“Seriously?” 

The last thing he wanted to hear was whatever that came out of Klaus's mouth - and in that order. 

“Think of our livelihood.” 

If Ben gave him a pointed look earlier now his gaze turns entirely black. He repeats himself but his tone isn't flat anymore.  


“Seriously?” 

“We need to eat, Benny boy.” 

He cocks his head to the side. “Not me.” 

“Well, if I die, you die too. And if you die with me again this time, it’s hardly the light we’ll be walking towards.” 

That is somehow convincing enough for Ben to give his assistance in this sloppy magic trick Klaus cooked up. Just this once, he says. 

That firm "just this once" quickly turns into a second time in one of the mansion bedrooms later that night. This time it's a private showing, though, so it shouldn’t count. 

Although Ben pretends to hate having to go along with his brother’s stupid plans, in the end he cannot help but feel enthralled by the new possibilities that open up to him by being able to touch, occasionally.  


They went through this briefly, back in their own timeline when he successfully punched Klaus in the face, but his new capabilities were largely untouched territory beyond that. Until now, that is. They are alone now. 

Alone, far removed from their own timeline, freeloading in a fancy mansion with all the time on their hands. The experimentation begins now. 

If it was any other combination of the Hargreeves siblings stuck in this situation, they’d probably hug immediately or try something equally cheesy. When it came to Klaus, hugging wasn’t the first thing on the to-do list. 

When he thinks about it, it is exhilarating. They were only half aware of the implications of it before, that Ben was now capable of touch at certain times. He can’t only touch though. He can lift. He can manipulate the space around him and the fruits of his actions are visible by the naked eye, too. 

“So we established that you can punch… you can lift,” Klaus lists their experiences, throwing himself on the king-sized bed. “But what else can you do, Beetlejuice?” 

When Ben doesn’t give an answer, he decides to continue.

“I mean, we already established that you’re not just some one-trick-pony. But how many tricks more does this pony have, then?"  


Ben sits close enough to be within an arm’s reach, which is his first error. Before he’d even realize, Klaus pinches his side, as he left himself open for attack. Ben yawps, albeit softly, as he decides to stand his ground and fight back. 

It’s been a while. Touching has been out of his world for the longest time. Now, to do it again feels both divine and forbidden at the same time. It's like hopping on a bicycle after going years without doing so, sloppy and strange at first, as you try to remember how you used to keep sitting upright. Fighting back against Klaus's playful stabs fills him with both warmth and cold, mixed feelings.  


Maybe he should have just walked into the light after all. He should not be waltzing on the edge of existence and non-existence, courtesy of his necromancer brother.

“So you can feel pain. Neat,” Klaus notes, pinching him again for good measure.

“Not neat at all, Klaus.”

“Not neat at all, Klaus,” whines, imitating Ben, in an unnaturally high pitched voice.

Then, he moves even closer, launching yet another attack on Ben. His sides ache in a way he almost forgot - it is a lot more than the phantom pain he normally feels as a ghost. The pain turns less sharp again and for a moment he almost wishes Klaus was one of those siblings who’d just hug him very close and tight when he finds out that he gained a corporeal form again. He is finally here again and most he needs is a hug.  


But as if his pleas were listened to, something changes within a few seconds.  


“Okay. Boring. What else can you feel?” Klaus asks, in a voice that is more inquisitive than what he’d expect from him. 

There is no answer to that question. No answer that Ben is equipped with, at least. He’s not one to say when he can feel the butterflies in his stomach due to the unexpected touches - normally it is not the butterflies that would be making a mess there.

Attraction is too different when one has a body that resembles the living, he has to note. Much more real, much more obvious. It is also much different when Klaus leans closer to his ear with a soft whisper as he allows his hands to wrap around him instead of pinching.

“Can you feel this?”

You know what about the whole hugging part? Forget it. This is causing him much more trouble than it should already. Klaus kneels behind him, and before he knows it his once ghost-leather-jacket is peeled off of him for better access, scattered somewhere on the floor. His hoodie follows suit soon after. 

He tries to answer, although he’s unsure how intelligible he sounds with Klaus’s lips on his neck. It is an attack he couldn't get ready for. Ben can feel his mouth falling open as a response, although he tries to stay in control.  


You see, it is one thing to care about someone deeply when you’re a ghost and realize that a literal world (and his disinterest, for the lack of a better word) is separating the two of you. It’s a whole another thing when you find out that you are suddenly able to feel again, on this side of life.  


The perspective shifts ever so slightly. And it isn’t only his perspective. 

“You aren’t in your right mind,” he attempts to say.

“You don’t say. I haven’t been in my right mind since what? 2005?” 

Klaus’s hands definitely feel real. They don’t feel like before, the whole pre-mortem situation, so to say. They feel needy, intrusive, and divine at the same time. For a moment, he is entirely blindsided. He may have spent roughly seventeen years dead, but when it boils down to this, he still feels like a teenager, bashful, awkward, and inexperienced. Ben only has a mouth on him when he feels safe and protected in his little ghost shell. Take that away, and he's nothing.  


“You know,” Klaus purrs, “I always thought it was a shame you grew up to be my type while you were kinda untouchable.” 

“That’s fucked up, Klaus,” Ben states as if it was still possible to save face in this situation.  


“And that’s not even in the top ten fucked up things I’ve done in my life!” Another kiss, but this time it’s serious. Earnest, almost. As earnest as Klaus Hargreeves can get. “Can you imagine?” 

“Actually, I can.” His voice somehow doesn’t sound as stoic as he’d like. 

In the next moment, Klaus shifts positions, now straddling him on the bed, leaning over him. He’s normally a few inches taller than Ben, to begin with, but the difference is much more striking from this angle. Ben should not have a heartbeat, but all of his body parts are definitely functioning the way they used to before the whole dying and being dead business. 

Klaus kisses him square on the mouth, and suddenly the whole world begins to make sense like it never made sense before. It is one thing to secretly pine after someone in your transparent ghost-existence, and it is a whole another thing to feel their weight on top of you, to bury your fingers in their curls, and give in. And the second option is definitely much more rewarding. At least for the short-term.  


Everything he does, every sound he makes is a testament to his own inexperience - but what would you expect from someone who spent the past seventeen years in the grave? He tenses up, yet a strange excitement washes over him, despite their situation being several shades of forbidden. And absolutely fucked up, if you will. Once adopted siblings, now one of them is technically dead, haunting the other for the past decade and counting.  


He has (most often) looked away many a time when Klaus was up to something similar to this, so he understands the disparity between the two of them too well. Ben wishes his shy, bashful self was only a memory of the past, but with the temporarily living flesh, it surfaced again. He is haunted by his own self, great. 

With a simple push, he is now pressed down on the feathery blanket, Klaus’s nose hovering above his. His heart is beating like a drum, a feeling so familiar and yet he could barely recall it until now. He presses a hand on Klaus’s chest, meaning to ask for some time out. 

“Oh?”

Although he wasn’t one who’d wear a lot of layers to begin with, the next moment Klaus gets rid of his top as well, throwing it on the floor. 

“Better?” 

It’s a familiar landscape. Even if he wasn’t going to intentionally peek, Klaus made it hard for others not to notice all of him. His fingers run across his chest, then his perfect abdomen, enjoying all of the texture that is suddenly available to his touch again. 

Yes, punching him in the face did feel good. This is a much different brand of good, however. The less repressed kind. 

Klaus tugs at the remaining layers he wears on top before the both of them would be finally shirtless, skin biting into skin. It rains kisses, then it pours kisses until the dam is broken, the floodgates open... Take your pick. The world has never been so chaotic and it has never been so whole at the same time either. 

Like in those moments when one gains perfect clarity, the feeling of helplessness is gone, and for a second he is a real boy again with the privileges of those who bear hot flesh and aren’t glass skinned. 

Klaus rolls off of him and for a moment they are lying on their sides next to each other, silently staring. He props his chin up with his hand and grins at Ben.

“Well, Pinocchio, this is a game-changer.” He exhales loudly. “I wonder how long can you last.”

“Sorry?” 

Klaus tries to lightly trace the lines of his shoulder with his free hand, although he cannot seem to manage it properly.

“Well, I mean, I doubt you’re a Real real boy again. One can graduate from life, but you can’t really graduate from being a ghost and scam your way back to the realm of the living forever.” He stares into Ben’s eyes, the wheels clearly turning in his head. “Or maybe you can. Did I just make out with a zombie?” 

Ben wants to reply something snarky but he ends up swallowing his words instead. In these moments he can still feel like a human again without all that despair, all the helplessness. When he ruffles the sheets under him, they respond to the touch. When he edges closer to Klaus, his eyes respond too. His lips, as well. His hand, cupping Ben’s face as he pulls the boy on himself this time, forgetting about everything else around them. 

Ben doesn’t want to think about the implications of any of this. He does not want to remind himself of whatever their reality was: That Klaus would most likely try anything once if he was too bored or needed distraction. That this would not matter to him the hour after Ben fades into black again. That both of them know that Klaus has had someone who Ben could never compare to, dead or alive. 

He just wants to forget about all of that. Only while they are here tonight.  


When he is trapped between two worlds again, those words will become relevant again. The notion of being non-existent. Of having no relevance. For now, he needs to enjoy something he has always wanted to do, but never fully realized until the had a taste. 

He smiles at Klaus without thinking, getting lost in his eyes for a moment.

“Hi.” Reaching out towards his face, he allows his fingers to tangle into Klaus’s hair. “Are we going to talk about how utterly fucked up this is, or?”

“Well if our Number One doesn’t have to make excuses, I won’t have to either. Don’t we all make out with our siblings sometime? Stays in the family.” 

The forced nonchalant air around Klaus is often his charm, but this time Ben wishes he’d say something else. Something that would suggest that this matters to him at all. But then, he knows Klaus too well. He'd use everything before facing his own fears and emotions, most often hiding them away even from himself. If anyone should know, it's Ben. If anyone should see behind all that, it's probably also Ben.  


They share a bond deeper than he's ever known. 

There is a faint knock on the bedroom door, and Klaus’s eyes immediately flick to the source of the sound. A voice is calling for him, and at the same time, he rolls his eyes.  


“Come on,” he whispers loudly towards Ben, as he scrambles under the sheets. “Let’s pretend I’m in the land of Nod.”

He finds himself under the heavy blanket as well, Klaus’s arms wrapped around him in an attempt to look the part of a sleeping beauty. The door opens slightly, then he can hear a dragged out “oh" in response to the make-believe scene of Klaus dozing off surrounded by fat pillows and heavy blankets.  


The lights are flicked off, then the door closes again, sucking all the light out of the room. Although they have no company anymore, Klaus isn’t moving. The embrace Ben has been waiting for is here, and it's lasting.  


And he is still here, he can still feel everything. Klaus’s naked skin burns against his, in a strange sensation he has never had the chance to experience before. 

Infinity only exists at this moment. He gently nudges him, without breaking the embrace.

“Klaus?” 

There is only a small sound, coming as a response.

“You know I love you,” he wants to say, but the night perhaps ends up swallowing his words whole. 

If Klaus can still hear him, drawn into the realm of dreams, he shows no sign of it. 


End file.
